


Musical Marmots

by Caelum_Blue



Series: Caelum's Canonverse [14]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Animals, Bonding, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Field Trip, Gen, Music, the author refuses to believe Aang was as disappointing a father as TLoK claimed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 17:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12237129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caelum_Blue/pseuds/Caelum_Blue
Summary: Written for Aang Week 2017. Prompt - Music.Bumi had to learn the flute from someone.





	Musical Marmots

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 1 of Aang Week 2017. Prompt: Music.
> 
> Writing canon characters is so weird, normally I'm working with my OCs... XD
> 
> I wasn't thrilled with LoK's revelation that Aang didn't take Bumi and Kya on trips. Avatar business is a good enough reasoning I guess, but if anyone would know how to incorporate children into long-distance travel, it'd be an Air Nomad. *shrugs* I'm choosing to believe that Bumi and Kya went on trips with their dad, but by the time Tenzin was old enough to go they had their own commitments and couldn't go as often, thus all Tenzin's solo trips.

Aang settled himself and Bumi on the dry ground, sending up little plumes of dust that drifted over the series of holes before them. Bumi started to lean forward out of Aang’s lap, hand extended toward the nearest hole. “What’s down there?”

Aang immediately pulled his way-too-much-like-him-and-Sokka son back against his chest. “Whoa now!” he said. “Don’t go putting your hand down strange holes, Bumi, it’ll get eaten that way.” Thank the  _ spirits _ Katara was down at the South Pole with baby Kya and hadn’t been here to see that.

“Momo goes down weird holes all the time and never gets eaten.”

“Momo is special,” Aang shrugged.

“Uncle Sokka goes down weird holes all the time and never gets - ”

“Actually, Uncle Sokka gets chomped on  _ a lot,” _ Aang said, pulling a flute out of his pocket.

“So what  _ is _ down there?” Bumi asked.

Aang tucked his son’s head under his chin and raised the flute to his lips. “Just watch.”

The first note cut through the dry desert air for a moment. Then Aang let the instrument fall silent, waiting for - yes, there it was, off to their right, a tiny, furry little head poked out of a hole and emitted a squeak that perfectly matched the tone of Aang’s flute.

Bumi gasped. “What’s  _ that?” _

“Singing groundhog,” Aang grinned, raising the flute for another go. The next note was pitched higher, and another groundhog popped out of a hole to their left and mimicked it. Aang played out another three notes in quick succession, and three more groundhogs emerged from the ground to repeat the tune.

Bumi laughed and clapped his hands. “They’re so cute!”

“Here,” Aang said, handing the flute off to his son. “You wanna try?”

“Yeah!” Bumi grabbed the flute and scrambled out of Aang’s lap so he could sit up straighter - good posture, Aang had taught him, was important in flute-playing. You had to be able to breathe well. Bumi started out with a few basic notes that the groundhogs easily repeated, and then he got a look in his eye that reminded Aang of Sokka and Hakoda. Aang just grinned and leaned back, listening to his son coach the groundhogs through the entirety of Hungry Little Lemur.  _ First he ate the fruit, then he ate the leaves… _

“Hungry little lemur ate up all my trees,” Aang hummed along to the chorus of squeaking. 

Bumi lowered the flute and giggled. “This is great! I wish more animals liked music this much.”

Aang grinned. “Badgermoles do.”

_ “Really? _ Can we go see those next?”

Aang considered the distance to Omashu and thought maybe it was time he introduced Bumi to the slide-filled city that’d been the home of his namesake. “I think that can be arranged…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are love. ^_^
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [caelum-in-the-avatarverse](https://caelum-in-the-avatarverse.tumblr.com/) if you're interested.


End file.
